Alternate Route
by Rogue Callista
Summary: Third in the "Captain's Wife" series. Liria and Kal get separated during the retreat from Hoth, and Liria teaches an arrogant smuggler a lesson he won't soon forget.


Title: Alternate Route

Author: Rogue Callista

Category: Rebellion

Keywords: Rebellion, Hoth, drama, romance, Liria

Rating: PG, for a mild curse word and an equally mild dirty joke.

Summary: Liria and Kal get separated during the retreat from Hoth, and Liria teaches an arrogant smuggler a lesson.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters, situations, and scenes created and copyrighted by Lucasfilm, Ltd, Mike Stackpole, and A.C. Crispin. No infringment is intended. As always, this is a not-for-profit story, and all other characters are completely fictional and figments of my wild imagination. I can't actually own these characters, but I like to think I do, so humor me, OK?

Author's note: I hope these stories are improving as the series grows. I am still working on balancing romance with humor and action, and, as always, I would appreciate any feedback readers may have.

A big thank you to everybody who reads this, and may the Force be with you all.

****

Alternate Route

Liria Croani rolled over on her military-issue cot and opened one of her eyelids with a minimum amount of effort in order to conserve energy. _Blast it, does it always have to be this cold?,_ she thought, feeling an icy draft come in through a chink in the wall. Her sarcastic little inner voice snapped, _Of course it always has to be cold. It's an ice planet, genius._ Liria was not liking this little stint on Hoth's Echo Base. She would much rather have been out in the field, but most of the available personnel had been called to Echo Base, because, frankly, it needed all the help it could get. After the Donen incident, Liria and her partner and friend-with-benefits Kal Daye had been sent on a string of relatively unimportant and boring spy missions, with a few interesting adventures thrown in for spice. When they'd been called here, they'd been glad to get a change of scenery, but that feeling had been immediately dampened the first time they'd seen Hoth. Kal wasn't minding it that much, but Liria hated it. She hated the snow, she hated the tauntauns, she hated the machinery malfunctions. She hated just about everything about Echo Base. _Well, at least Kal's here_, thought Liria, and immediately squelched the thought, because she was still pretending she didn't have warm and fuzzy feelings about Kal. The cot next to her was empty. Princess Leia Organa, her roommate in this glorified storage closet, had left earlier that morning to supervise a work detail. Liria rolled over and snuggled deeper into the thick, woolly blankets. _Let Leia think I'm lazy. I hate the cold. I think hibernation is a great idea._

Just then, there was a banging at the door and a sound of adolescent boys giggling. Liria rolled her eyes and groaned silently. That was another thing about Echo Base. She, Princess Leia, and a few others were the only women on it. Since most of the people on the base were young human males, they were always competing for the women's attention. Liria didn't have nearly as many admirers as Leia, but she had a few--just enough to get on Kal's nerves. A mocking falsetto voice called out, "Oooooohhhhh, Liiirriiiiiaaaaa! Ooooopeeennnn uuuuuuupppp! It's meeee, Princess Leia!" A chorus of giggles followed. That would be Wes Janson. He could be a real pest sometimes. Liria liked him well enough, but he always woke her up at an unearthly hour of the morning, or bugged her when she was supposed to be doing something important. Moreover, whenever Kal told Wes to leave her alone, it always led up into a crude remark about when Kal and Liria were going to get together. Wes was great, he just needed to mature about a hundred standard years if he ever wanted to date Liria.

Another voice, a youthful tenor, came from behind the door. "Guys, cut it out. She needs her sleep." That was followed by some more crude remarks about what she'd been doing last night. The voice rang out again. "No, seriously, I mean it." More raucous laughter. Liria sighed. That was her other problem—Dack Ralter. He apparently had an immense crush on her. Liria liked the attention he paid her, the sweets he always managed to get her, the talks they had that were the only decent ones she'd had with a man on the base other than Kal. What she didn't like was that he seemed to be getting more serious about her, and he took it for granted that Liria felt the same way about him. He seemed to be really sweet, but he was really innocent, too, and he didn't know a whole lot about women, to put it very nicely. Liria found him slightly annoying at times, but she dreaded telling him that she couldn't return his affection. However, she knew the longer she put it off, the harder it was going to be.

Then she heard Kal's unmistakable baritone. "Get away from the lady's door, you Hutt-licking nerf-herders." Liria smiled to herself. He sounded mad. When Kal got mad, things happened.

A chorus of voices answered him. "Ooooohhhh, it's the almost-boyfriend." "Hey, we're just having fun." "She hasn't said anything." "Yeah, let her speak for herself." "Can't take the competition, Daye?"

Kal spoke again. This time, it was the lethal voice. "Get the sithspawn outta here, boys. I mean it. I don't think Princess Leia or General Rieekan wants to hear another complaint."

Wes answered him. "Whatcha gonna do, Daye? Beat me up?"

Kal growled. "I'm considering it." There was the sound of a fist hitting flesh. Kal was not usually one to use violence, but when provoked, he was an excellent fighter. Liria could hear the boys hotfooting it out of there with yells and catcalls. She heard kicking at the door, then it opened slowly. Kal was standing there without a mark on him. He smiled that rogue's grin at her. "Good morning, Lady Liria."

Liria sat upright in her cot and smiled back. She was careful to keep the blankets pulled up to her chin, however. "Kal, what did I tell you about beating up those poor children before breakfast?"

Kal's grin grew wider. "Oh, but Lady Liria, I didn't hear a word of that." He was about to leave and let Liria get dressed when Wes stumbled up with a black eye and a nosebleed. Wes waved at Liria and smiled with the uninjured side of his face. "Hello, honey!"

Kal narrowed his eyes. "Didja come back for more, Janson?"

Wes glared at him as best he could. "Of course not, you mean, mean man. I just came to pay my morning respects to the most beautiful woman on Echo Base." He gave Liria that lopsided smile again and offered his own version of a courtly bow. Kal lifted his eyebrow at Wes and waved his fist. Wes lost most of his remaining bravado then. "Um, I'll be going now." He shot Liria a parting lovelorn expression and ran as fast as his legs would take him.

Liria couldn't help laughing at that. "Kal, I really wish you wouldn't beat those guys up. They don't bother me so much." Her expression turned serious. "I can take care of myself, really."

Kal got that hangdog look on his face. "I'm sorry, Liria, I just…"

__

Blast, he's going to say something mushy. I can't stand that. Liria got impatient then. "Now will you please leave and let me get dressed?" she said testily. "And please, close the door behind you, for galaxy's sake."

Kal left without further ado. Liria reluctantly got out of bed and pulled a warm jumpsuit and sweater on. _Men! Sometimes I think they just make the universe unnecessarily complicated._

She went to the mess hall after getting dressed and freshening up. After she got her ration tray, she spotted Kal saving a table for her, but Dack intercepted her. "Can't you sit with me today, Liria?" _Ummmm…how 'bout no, Dack?_ Liria shook her head and resisted the temptation to yell at him. "Dack," she said kindly, "Any other time, but not today." She gestured towards Kal glowering at the two and lowered her voice. "You see, he's still a little mad about what happened this morning, and I need to pamper his ego a bit. You know?"

That seemed to satisfy Dack for the moment. He looked sad, but resigned. "Okay, Liria." And he headed off to sit with his Rogue Squadron buddies.

Liria pulled up a chair next to Kal and smiled at him as she attacked her unappealing rations. "Good morning."

Kal still looked mad. _Uh-oh, here comes trouble, _she thought. "What's the matter?" she asked sweetly.

Kal turned to face her. "You know exactly what the matter is, Liria Croani," he said sharply.

This was really starting to make Liria mad. "Yeah, I know what the matter is," she retorted tartly. "You're jealous that I'm getting attention from somebody besides you. You can't handle the fact that other men are thinking of me too. You're not the only guy in the universe, you know."

Kal's expression turned wounded in an instant. "Liria, it's not that. It's just that I thought we had—"

Liria became positively furious. "You thought we had something, is that it? Well, I never made you any promises, remember? We agreed that we could just take this thing as it comes, and here you are, acting like a macho idiot because it just occurred to you that I could be serious about other men."

Kal was startled at her outburst, but he stood his ground. "Liria, you are not serious about any of these men—"

"Do you think that means I'm serious about you?" Liria interrupted.

Kal continued,"—and you are especially not serious about Dack Ralter. Liria, I know you. You like him, but you can't love him. You have got to tell him so. You owe it to him." He took Liria's hand. "You owe it to yourself."

Liria wrenched her hand free and stood up. "How dare you—" 

But she never had a chance to finish her sentence. Sirens began to resound through the building, and General Carlist Rieekan came on over the intercom. "Imperial forces have landed on Hoth, and Echo Base is under attack," he said in a calm voice that belied his agitation. "I repeat, Echo Base is under attack. All pilots scramble to their fighters, all gunners to their gun stations, infantry to their positions. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."

Liria and Kal stared at each other, their argument forgotten momentarily in their panic. "Okay, so where do we go?" Kal asked the intercom. Surprisingly, he got an answer. "All other personnel, report to the capital ship docking bay. Prepare to evacuate."

The pair ran to the docking bay amidst the crowds of human and non-human soldiers, each going their separate ways. When they got to the bay, the first person they ran into was Princess Leia. She grabbed Liria by the arm. "Thank the skies you're here, Liria. I'm needed elsewhere, and I'd like you and Kal to supervise the evacuation." She nodded briefly at Kal and gave him a strained smile. Then she turned back to Liria. "I know you can handle this, so I'll go." And she was gone without another word. 

Liria turned to Kal and rolled her eyes. " 'Shall I never smell a blaster bolt, or know the heat of battle?' " she said dramatically, quoting a Corellian war play.

Kal sighed. "Let's get to work."

The next few hours were a blur of activity. Liria and Kal were involved in everything from loading crates of ammunition onto ships to preparing emergency power supplies for droids. Liria hardly remembered any of it later, she was so busy. The only thing that was clear in her mind was Princess Leia coming into the docking bay and shouting, "Go! Go! Retreat!" before she ran off to Force knew where and left Liria and Kal to hustle everybody on board the ships. A freight pilot and smuggler she barely knew grabbed her hand and yelled, "Come on! We're losing time!" In that instant, Kal was pulled in the opposite direction and ordered on board a ship. They were separated without even saying goodbye, and it had only taken a split second.

Liria was so exhausted by her efforts that she sat like a limp rag doll in the YL-1400 freighter's cockpit as the pilot received takeoff instructions and rendezvous information. Then she realized that Kal wasn't there anymore. She panicked, and started pulling at the pilot's jacket. "I have to get off!" she cried. "I have to find Kal!"

The pilot looked at her as if she were an escapee from Imperial Center Mental Care Facility. "Sister, there's no going back. We're about to get off this iceball for good, and if you don't want to get left, I suggest you stay in here," he said matter-of-factly. Liria was stuck. She buried her face in her hands and cried like an infant as the pilot took off.

But after they broke atmosphere, there was trouble. A huge Imperial Star Destroyer, bigger than any Liria had ever seen, was lying in wait for the Rebel fleet. _That must be the Executor_, she thought with horror. And then there was no more time to think, for a swarm of TIE fighters poured out of the Star Destroyer. The pilot turned to her. "Can you shoot?" he asked, but he didn't wait for her answer. "Never mind, I don't care whether you can shoot or not, lady, just get into the gunnery well!" Dazed, Liria stumbled into the gunner's seat. She'd had some practice during her time on Hoth, and she actually managed to injure a few of the TIEs and even bring down one or two. Fortunately, the pilot did her a favor and jumped into hyperspace as soon as the navicomputer had the coordinates.

She walked back up to the cockpit at a more dignifed pace this time, and seated herself automatically in the copilot's seat. The pilot looked at her with admiration. "Hey, that was pretty good," he commented, and Liria grinned. She sensed that for this guy, complimenting a woman on her battle skills was like passing a kidney stone. "Thanks," she replied.

The dark-eyed smuggler extended a hand. "I'm Petro K'tann," he said. "Have we met before?"

Liria shook his hand firmly. The fortyish, graying man did look a bit familiar. "Yes, I think so, but very briefly."

The pilot thought for a second. "Oh, yeah, that day in the mess hall when me and Han Solo decided to 'chaperone' you and your gentleman friend."

Liria laughed aloud. "I don't think Kal fully appreciated that joke." Then she sighed. She missed Kal already.

Petro's gaze became more intent. "You miss him already, huh? How long you two been together?"

Liria thought a moment. "We've been working together about two years, give or take a few—"

Petro cut her off with a smile. "Geez, you Alliance girls are all about business. I meant romantically."

"Um, actually," Liria blushed, "we've never been together romantically." She noticed Petro giving her a funny look and stared out the viewport. "It's a long story, don't ask."

"Oh, I'm not saying anything," Petro commented casually. "He must be a patient guy, to wait so long for you. Either that, or he likes you a lot, sister."

Liria blushed again and changed the subject. "Enough about me. Didn't you have a copilot?"

Petro rolled his eyes. "Flew with a Trandoshan until about an hour ago. I guess he was real eager to get himself shot up out there on that iceball."

"I'm sorry," said Liria politely. Petro shrugged. "We weren't that close. I've got a good astromech droid and that's all a guy really needs, isn't it?" he said with a wink. Liria rolled her eyes and went off to the living quarters to grab some sleep.

It went on like that for a few more days. Petro made a couple of awkward passes at Liria, but she dampened his ardor soon enough, and he finally started to respect her and her privacy. Other than that, they got along fairly well, but Liria couldn't help wondering where the rendezvous point was. It was taking quite a while to get there. Finally, she decided to just ask Petro.

One morning after breakfast, she walked into the cockpit to find Petro making preparations to drop into realspace, with the little R2 unit by his side. She guessed this was as good a time as any. "So, where are we going to come out of hyperspace?" He turned to look at her briefly, then turned back to the controls. "Nar Shaddaa," he mumbled.

Liria was puzzled. "Nar Shaddaa? Why would the Alliance pick a world like Nar Shaddaa to rendezvous? There's sure to be millions of people coming and going. It's not exactly a secret hideaway."

Petro still didn't turn around to face her. "Nar Shaddaa's not the rendezvous point. Nar Shaddaa is where I'm going to refuel, and it's where I'm going to drop off this cargo."

A feeling of dread wormed its way into Liria's stomach. She knew this cargo, she'd packed it herself. It was blaster packs and spare X-wing parts, absolutely vital to the Rebellion. "What are you talking about? It belongs to the Rebellion."

Petro finally turned around, speaking defensively. "Look, Liria, I've told you before, I'm a free agent. I work for myself. No way am I going to go the way Solo went. The Alliance owes me pay for the freight hauling I did for them. The way I figure it, after that beating they just took, they'll never get around to giving me credits, so I'll just sell off this cargo. It's an even trade."

Liria was furious. "But this is wrong. The parts and ammunition belong to the Alliance."

Petro laughed dryly. "What do I care about right and wrong? I'm a smuggler."

Liria squared her shoulders and assumed her most regal pose. "I suppose there's nothing I can do to stop you from committing this shameless act of thievery. Will you at least give me the satisfaction of telling me what your plans are for me?" she said with a sneer.

Petro laughed even harder. "Honey, I know I couldn't get away with selling you like the rest of this merchandise, so I'll drop ya off down on Nar Shaddaa and you can take a transport to wherever." He winked at her. "You don't have to thank me, either."

Liria was now absolutely enraged, but she held herself back. "Good, I can save my breath." And she stalked off to the living quarters to pour her anger into forming a plan to get herself and the supplies out of the clutches of Petro K'tann.

As Petro refueled the ship at an orbital station and made preparations to land on the planet, Liria played along. She put on a calm façade for Petro's benefit, but inside, she was boiling with rage, and she knew exactly what she was going to do. Once they landed, Petro told her, "I've got to leave the ship and find a buyer for this stuff. What do you plan to do?"

"Can I stay on the ship for a while? I'm so tired. I just need a little time to rest, and then I'll find passage on another ship, I promise," Liria replied sweetly. _Honey always catches more myrmins than vinegar, or so my dear mother said._

Petro was flattered by her subservient tone, and he grinned crookedly at her. "I guess you can do whatever you want, sister." He leaned closer to her, breathing in her face. _Ugh, when did he brush his teeth last?_ "I guess it's too much to hope that you've changed your mind about me?"

Liria laughed and smiled coyly, becoming slightly nauseated. "Dream on, playboy." _Sister, indeed! The nerve of that man!_ Petro left the ship in a good mood, just as she'd hoped. People were less suspicious, less aware, when they were feeling self-satisfied. She strapped on her blaster and grabbed a dark nerfhide jacket for camouflage. 

Liria watched Petro out of the viewport, and as soon as he had finished unloading the cargo, he had a couple docking techs send it to a warehouse elsewhere on Nar Shaddaa. As soon as he was done with that, he left the docking bay, and Liria followed him out into the seedy streets of the Smuggler's Moon. She shuddered at the assortment of garish bars, gambling dens and pleasure-houses that lined the trash-littered avenues. It was like the nasty side of any planet, only raised to the tenth power. _And this planet seems to be all nasty side so far._ Liria succeeded in tracking Petro through about six cantinas and gambling houses, but on the seventh, she must have blinked for a second, because she lost him there. She cursed at herself. _Stang! I can't believe my rotten luck._

Just then, a cry from a side alley to her left distracted her from her little bout of self-pity. She looked in that direction, and saw a gang of toughs of several species. They appeared to be beating some poor individual. Liria was about to shrug it off as a normal occurrence when she noticed, to her horror, that the victim wasn't a fellow criminal, but a young Twi'lek girl. She gasped and drew her blaster. Quick as an eyeblink, she stunned the thugs and ran over to the child. "Are you all right?"

The Twi'lek girl was trembling with fear and pain and badly bruised, but she was otherwise uninjured. "I—I think so," she said in a tearful voice.

Liria crouched, putting her hands on the child's shoulders. "Let's get out of here before they wake up." She picked up the girl and ran off, to a place several blocks away where there was a "park" consisting of a few dingy benches and a dead tree. Liria set the girl down on one of the benches, and sat beside her. She put an arm around the Twi'lek child, and looked at her with a kindly expression. "Why were those men beating you?" she asked gently.

The little Twi'lek sniffled, her head-tails twitching. "I was going to the store to buy some food, that's all. I was so hungry." She hiccuped. "I guess they knew I had money."

Liria's heart ached for the girl. _Imagine having to spend one's childhood in a place like this!_ "Next time, don't take a side alley like that. There are always people lying in wait there. You might not be so lucky a second time."

The girl sighed. "I know I shouldn't take those shortcuts, but I don't like the main streets. Too many people, lots of speeders and swoops. It's scary. Besides, I was so hungry."

Liria handed the Twi'lek a ration bar from the pocket of the jacket and watched her dig into it hungrily. "Who's your mother? Where is she?" 

The child said through a mouthful of crumbs, "Her name's Mylala'cor. She dances in a bar over there." The girl pointed behind her and frowned. "Sometimes, she has to work all day and all night, because they won't pay her. She's so busy she forgets to get me food. That happens a lot more now than it used to. I miss her a lot." A tear rolled down her pale-green cheek.

Liria brushed away the tear, trying to hold back her own. "What's your name, little girl?"

"Daeshara'cor," the girl replied. Suddenly, the Twi'lek looked intently into Liria's eyes. "You're looking for somebody," she said with confidence.

Liria was startled. "Well, actually, I am. How in the galaxy—"

Daeshara'cor broke in. "I can help you find the person. Really, I can."

Liria thought the girl was pretending, trying to repay Liria for saving her. She decided to play along. "Okay, where is he, Daeshara'cor?"

The girl shut her eyes for a moment, then opened them. "His name is Petro K'tann," she said with certainty, "and he just went to the Golden Bantha Warehouse, Level 5, Block 8, Subblock 10."

Liria gasped. "How did you know his name? How do you know that's where he is? You can't possibly—" She was dumbstruck.

Daeshara'cor shrugged. "It's just something I do. I don't do it a lot now, because my mom said it isn't safe. But I wanted to help you like you helped me. You'd better go now, or he'll beat you there."

Liria hugged the girl. "Would you like to come with me? After I leave, I'm going back to my friends. They're very nice. You would always have plenty to eat, and I would love you like my own little girl." Her heart truly went out to this sweet child, trapped in this hellish place.

Daeshara'cor shook her head reluctantly, head-tails swishing from side to side. "I wish I could, but I can't leave my mom. She needs me a lot, especially when she gets sick. I help her out by begging food for us. She loves me very much, she says. It's not her fault she has to work so hard," she said a bit defensively. "Thanks for your help, though." And she hugged Liria back.

Liria rose reluctantly, smiled at Daeshara'cor. "Will you be all right now? Do you have anywhere else to go?"

"I know how to get back home from here," the young Twi'lek replied.

Liria paused, then reached into her pocket. She pulled out some small change and a crinkled fifty-credit bill, and pressed the money into Daeshara'cor's hand. "Take the change and use it to take a pubtrans hovercar back home," she said gently. "Buy yourself some food and warm clothes with the money." She hugged the girl again and kissed her cheek. "Thank you so much, dear."

Daeshara'cor grinned and waved goodbye as Liria sprinted off. "You're welcome!" she shouted happily.

Petro K'tann walked up to the Golden Bantha Warehouse with a heavyset Devaronian at his side. Petro was feeling pretty good about himself. The Devaronian had agreed to buy the cargo, and at a stellar price. Petro thought idly about Liria as he opened the door to the self-storage unit. He was sure she'd found a way offworld by now. He was a free man again. He had no idea he was about to get a very unpleasant surprise. Petro lifted the door all the way up and beckoned to the Devaronian with a grin. "It's right in here, prime merchandise, never touched," he said smarmily as he hit the light switch. "You're gonna—" He stopped in the middle of his sentence, blanching. "What in the Emperor's name is THIS?!?!"

Sitting on top of a carton of X-wing parts with the Incom seal still on it was Liria. She was holding a thermal detonator in one hand and a blaster in the other. She gave Petro a lethal grin. "Exactly what it looks like, flyboy. Seems I've got an edge on you here."

The Devaronian took one look at Liria and decided not to get caught in the middle of this particular mess. He slapped Petro on the back companionably. "I think the deal is off now, Human," he said nervously, and left as fast as his feet would carry him.

Petro glared after the horned humanoid, then turned and gave Liria a dirty look. "Do you see what you just did, woman? You—" He stopped in the middle of his sentence as Liria trained her blaster on him.

Liria laughed, a high, drawn-out sound that, oddly enough, chilled Petro to the marrow of his bones. "It's not half as bad as what I could do, slime. This whole unit is going up in flames if I don't get my way. And a lady does like to get her own way." She stroked the thermal detonator like a lucky talisman.

"You should be locked up!" Petro yelled. "Don't you know what that thing can do?"

Liria shook her head. "I'm not so much crazy as I am determined," she said with a lift of her chin. "And I don't need to tell you what this thing can do. After all, I did steal it from your personal weapons cache."

Petro was beat, he could see that right away. "All right, whaddya want me to do?" he said sullenly.

Liria smiled evilly. "First," she said, like a queen giving a royal decree, "I want you to get this cargo moved back to your ship. I don't care how much it costs you. Second, I want you to take me and the merchandise to the Alliance rendezvous point without further ado. That's all."

Petro's lip curled in a nasty sneer. "That's all, is it? Women are such a pain in the ass."

Liria waved the blaster. "Get cracking, vrelt-face." Petro didn't need another reminder. He did what Liria asked, but she was sure to keep one finger on the thermal detonator and another on her blaster.

Two days and a hyperspace jump later, the freighter arrived at the rendezvous point, with Liria riding shotgun the whole time. She identified herself and requested permission to dock with the capital ship Home One. She handed the comm back to Petro. Then she dug into her pocket and handed him back the thermal detonator as well. "Thanks for letting me borrow it, Petro," she said with an angelic smile.

Petro glared at her, then forced a laugh. "Do you know, you made a first-class fool of me, Liria. Woe to the man who crosses you, I guess."

Liria laughed back and extended a hand. "Thanks for the ride, too. Kal will be appreciative," she said with a wink. And as Petro shook her hand reluctantly, she thought, _I bet you'll never underestimate a woman again, you old vrelt._

After they had docked with Home One, Liria stood on the deck of the ship, watching techs unload the hard-won cargo. Inevitably, her thoughts turned to Kal. _I wonder where he is, _she thought_. Surprising how much I miss him. It hasn't been that long, but skies, it feels like an age._ She smiled. _I didn't know I was this attached. I've never felt like that, not even about the Captain._ She shook her head in irritation. _I must have a serious case of brain rot_. And then there was no more time for thoughts, for she spotted a very familiar man walking towards her. "Kal!" she cried joyfully, and she was suddenly wrapped in a strong embrace that left her breathless. She covered his face in kisses. "I missed you," she said simply.

Kal held her at arm's length briefly. "Let me look at you, Lady Liria." Then he caught her up and spun her around as if she were a little girl. She screamed in delight, and he laughed. "I missed you too, sweetheart." Liria didn't object to the name. She was so happy to see him, she didn't care.

Liria broke off her laughter, paused. "I have to tell you something, Kal."

Kal smiled that smile that Liria loved so much and looked directly into her eyes. "What? That you love me? Lir, I've known that all along."

"Well, I'm glad you're so smart," Liria said coyly, "or I might actually have to tell you these things." And they kissed right there on the deck, as techs stopped their work to clap.

After things had calmed down a bit, Kal took Liria up to the break room for a cup of caf. Liria told him the story of Petro and the stolen cargo, and he laughed. "I never can get over how brave you are," he said admiringly. Liria shook her head and sighed. "I'm glad he didn't call my bluff, though. I kind of enjoy my life." 

Kal smiled kindly. "Well, all's well that ends well." Then the talk turned to the Battle of Hoth. "We got hurt pretty badly, but we'll recover," Kal said hopefully. Then he looked Liria in the eye. "We lost a lot of people too."

Liria felt sick, but she had to ask. "Was it Dack?"

Kal nodded. "He was shot down in his snowspeeder. I'm sorry, Liria. I know you two were friends."

Liria shook her head, leaned against Kal's chest as he put an arm around her. "That's not fair. He was so young and hopeful. He never had a chance to live his life." She was glad now that she hadn't told Dack how she really felt about him. Better for him to die gloriously, thinking he was loved, than to go to his grave with a broken heart. 

"But we've still got a lot of good folks with us," Kal said after pausing to wipe the tears from Liria's eyes. "Princess Leia, Wedge Antilles, Luke Skywalker…And hey, I'm alive!" he said jokingly. "That's better than all the rest of the Rebellion put together."

Liria lifted her head and looked at Kal lovingly. "I guess for me, it is," she said simply, and reached up to kiss him again.


End file.
